First Thoughts
by TheAngelWhoSings
Summary: Annette Blackshaw was just an ordinary girl...well as ordinary as a witch can be. A child's first year at Hogwarts is always bound to be an exciting one, but probably not as exciting as Annette's. Being friends with Harry Potter is always a hard time, when the Sorcerer's Stone is in danger of being stolen and used for evil can the Gryffindor Trio and Annette stop the enemy in time?
1. Chapter One: Prologue

**Disclaimer**: I do not own the Harry Potter series. I am not J.K Rowling, and nor am I trying to be (that would be crazy). Any characters that are not recognized to be from the Harry Potter franchise is of my own creation and belong to me.

I'd like to make this disclaimer really clear so that I don't have to do it at the beginning of every chapter. For this particular story I am using _**Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone**_ as a guide and transcript. There are things that I have included that are word for word from the book so as to keep true to the story. These words and details solely belong to Ms. J.K Rowling, and I do not claim them for myself :)

Screaming. Crying. Blood. So much blood. Everything around her was blurred. She clutched her baby girl to her, trying to get her as far away from the violent scene as possible. She held her wand tightly, her knuckles turning dark curly hair flowing everywhere as the wind whipped it around. She looked behind her as she kept running, trying to see if anyone was pursuing her. She saw a dark alley way in between two buildings and she rushed into it.

Breathing heavily she quickly ran through the memories of that day, trying to understand how this could have happened. She never noticed anything out of the ordinary. She felt a surge of anger towards herself. She was an Auror! She was supposed to noticed anything suspicious around her and take care of it! She was brought violently out of her thoughts as a large blast rattled Diagon Alley. She closed her eyes at new onslaught of screaming that was brought on from the blast. She opened her eyes and yelped at the sight of a man in a black robe pointing his wand at her.

"_Stupefy_!" She cried out quickly, her heart beating erratically, she let out a breath of relief as her enemy was flung back and stunned she ran out of her temporary hiding place, shielding her daughter as much as she could in their situation, her heart breaking at the sound of her baby crying.

"I know sweetheart, oh I know. We'll get out of here. I promise" She whispered to her daughter, trying to comfort her and kissed her on the forehead.

She was narrowly missed by a bright green streak and she gasped in surprise. She turned around and saw another person in a dark cloak pointing their wand at her.

"You fucking bastards!" She screamed out. "_Expelliarmus_!" She disarmed her opponent quickly, but it wasn't enough, she had to make sure that bastard was out for the count. That curse was so close to hitting her and her child, and she was not going to let that one get away. She was about to send a Killing Curse of her own when she stopped.

If she sent that curse she would be just like those monsters. She would be taking a life. Although it would have been justified, it was still a life and she couldn't just take away something so sacred. Who was she to decide who could live and who could die? She would be upsetting the balance of things, just like the Death Eaters were and she absolutely refused to do so.

Instead of sending the Unforgivable she flicked her wand upwards towards them and said _"Arania Exumai_" in a clear strong voice, quite pleased with seeing her adversary flying backwards from her spell.

Seeing an opportunity to get to safety, she took it immediately and apparated out of there. She didn't care as to where she would go, just that she went somewhere that was safe. She found herself in front of her best friend's home. Thanks to the Fidelius Charm, the home was absolutely invisible to anyone who was not in on the secret.

After they found out that You-Know-Who was after James and Lily Potter and their baby boy, they had taken every precaution possible in order to keep them as safe as they could be. She thanked every and any higher power there was that she was let in on the secret as she knocked on the door frantically. Looking down at her daughter and laughing as she saw that she had fallen asleep. The girl was just like her father, he could sleep through almost anything.

The door opened slowly and cautiously, a wand peeked through the opening, she could see a flash of red hair through the opening as well and she breathed a little easier, relieved that she could see her best friend.

"Lily, Lily, relax, it's just me. Don't worry" She pleaded with her. She needed to get her daughter to somewhere she knew was safe. This house, was most likely the safest house in all of Britain at the moment.

"Prove it" Lily hissed. She sagged as though there was a weight that was foisted onto her shoulders. She took no offense though. Her friend had a family and she understood the urge, no, the need to protect one's family in these times. You never really knew for sure who was your friend and who was your foe. It was extremely nerve wracking not knowing who you could and couldn't trust.

She looked around in desperation, trying to think of something that could reassure Lily of her identity. She smirked as she remembered something from their school days.

"Hey, remember that time in Sixth Year when you realized that you liked James and you just kept denying it until one time when you finally stopped the denial phase and you had an emotional breakdown of epic proportions? Yeah, I remember! You dragged me into the prefect's bathroom and started freaking out and when you finally calmed down you made me swear on my life not to tell anyone or else you would sneak Veritaserum into my pumpkin juice. Yeah, that was fun wasn't it Lilypad?" She grinned at her ginger friend, using her nickname for her.

Lily rolled her eyes and opened the door all the way, "What are you doing here? I wasn't expecting anyone visiting today" She asked her dark haired best friend.

The grin that she wore melted off her face as she heard the question that Lily asked her. She looked at Lily somberly.

Lily noticed the change in emotion and looked at her worriedly. It was then she actually took in her friend's appearance. Dust and rubble all over her cloak, she had a cut on her forehead and she looked tired.

"What the hell happened to you?" Lily questioned with a hint of fear, she didn't even have to really ask. There was only one thing that could have happened nowadays. "Get in here!" Lily exclaimed.

The dark haired woman shook her head and handed her daughter to Lily, the red head looking at her confused, but accepting the baby.

"I've gotta get back to Diagon Alley, the other Aurors are probably there already" She told Lily quickly.

Lily narrowed her eyes at her friend. "What happened in Diagon?" She asked, already knowing the answer, but needing to know for sure. It had to be serious if the Aurors were being called in to deal with the situation. It wasn't just the fact that the Aurors would need to be called in that made Lily afraid. It was the fact that her best friend as well as her husband were Aurors. James was an Auror as well, however, ever since they were put into hiding, he was not able to go to work.

"It's the Death Eaters, isn't it?" Lily asked her quietly. The only response that she got was a single nod from her friend. Lily clutched the baby girl in her arms and looked into her friend's dark brown eyes and nodded back at her.

"Come back safely" Lily warned her, her friend grinned and winked cheekily at her.

"I always do!" She gave Lily a hug and kissed her daughter on the forehead. Laughing a bit when the girl opened her eyes, a dark stormy grey, like her father's.

"There are those beautiful eyes." She smiled at her daughter before kissing her again. She looked at Lily and waved "I'll see you later Lilypad"

And with that she apparated once more, but this time into Diagon, where a bright purple and sinister looking stream of light just narrowly missed her. She could not believe her luck that day. That was the second time that a dangerous curse missed her.

She sent a stunner in the general direction that the curse came from when she was hit by something. She was flung into the air and finally stopped by hitting a wall. She fell to the ground and moaned in pain. She coughed and tried regaining the breath that was knocked out of her. She stood up shakily and looked around blinking, trying to make out the blurred shapes in her vision.

She then saw something that she recognized very well. A tall man in a flowing black cloak and evil looking mask approached her, his wand outstretched towards her. She swallowed, knowing that she was in trouble. She outstretched her own wand towards him and crouched into a dueling position.

The man stopped and sent a bright red spell towards her, one which she recognized as a Stunning spell. She lazily deflected it and sent back a Disarming charm, grimacing as the man deflected it in the same manner that she had. He started to pick up the pace as he sent one curse after another, while she tried deflecting them and sending as many she could back. She quickly sent a Full Body Bind spell quickly followed by the Impediment Jinx a towards him, watching in pleasure as he deflected the Body Bind but was not able to shield himself from the Jinx.

She watched as his slowed down and tripped, she quickly got distracted by seeing her husband a little way ahead of her, fighting his own Death Eater. She grinned as she saw him disarm his opponent, but the grin faded quickly as she saw another Death Eater sneak up behind him.

"Sirius!" She yelled. He looked around in alarm, hearing his name. She ran towards him, her wand outstretched before her and sent a strong Stunner towards the Death Eater.

Her husband turned around and grinned at the sight of her. She continued running towards him when she felt a searing hot pain in her abdomen. She collapsed to the ground clutching her stomach. Sirius froze, feeling his heart totally stop as he saw his wife drop to the ground. He saw a Death Eater with his wand out quickly approaching her.

"_Alarte Ascendare_" he flicked his wand behind him and watched in satisfaction as the Death Eater was flung in that direction.

He sprinted towards his wife, kneeling down beside her as she lay face down on the cobbled road of Diagon Alley. He heard her moan in pain. Sirius gently rolled her over onto her back and looked at her in horror. She was clutching her stomach but he could still see the huge amount of blood that was seeping through her shirt. He looked around in desperation.

"It'll be fine. You're okay. You're fine" He reassured her before picking her up bridal style, wincing as the sudden jolt caused her to groan. He stood there for a few moments trying to determine what he should do. He quickly thought about apparating, but surely that would be damaging, especially in her condition wouldn't it? He was brought out of his thoughts as a bright light missed him by nearly an inch. Out of instinct her held her tightly to him and apparated to the middle of London.

He was relieved as he saw what looked to be a condemned department store, but of course, when in the Wizarding World, nothing really is what it seems to be. He quickly stepped through the window and found himself in the reception area of St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. He saw the Welcome Witch's eyes widen in alarm. She called for Healers to come immediately.

Everything from then was a blur to him. They took her to the Fourth floor of the Hospital. The one designated for Spell Damage. He sat in a chair outside her room, his head in his hands, feeling helpless to do anything. A group of their friends had come immediately when they heard the news. Mary McDonald, Alice Longbottom and Dorcas Meadowes were among her best friends, as well as Lily who unfortunately could not come due to the fact that they were hidden away. Her younger sister, Kaylee Shaw, sat beside him, silently crying.. Remus Lupin and mousy Peter Pettigrew were there as well, two out of his best friends who had come for moral support. He knew that James probably wanted to be there, but like Lily, the risk was too much to take.

A Healer came out of the room slowly and Sirius stood up quickly, hoping that whatever the Healer had to say would be good news. He was sadly mistaken as the Healer looked at him sadly and shook her head. Sirius was numb, he sank back into his chair and was vaguely aware of what was happening around him. His friends surrounded him offering their condolences.

After what felt like ages, he got up ignoring his friends' protests and walked out of the Hospital before apparating to the small home that they had lived in together. He entered the house and stood in the doorway for a few moments before letting out a pain filled yell and he punched the wall, leaving a fist shaped dent in the wall. He sank to the ground, his hands bunched up into fists in his hair, and he just sobbed.

Everything was a blur after that. The next morning he picked his daughter up from the Potters, both of them offering condolences and offering to keep his girl with them as he mourned. He rejected their offer, he needed to see his daughter, she was the only thing that he had left in memory of his wife, and he promised himself that because the girl no longer had her mother he would be the greatest father ever known to man.

As he saw his daughter for the first time since the incident, he clutched her like a lifeline. He supposed that she was in a way. The few days after his wife's death he kept his daughter with him at all times.

The time came for the funeral. It was the thing that he was dreading the most. Before, he could pretend that nothing happened. That she was just on a trip or something. That she would come bursting through those doors demanding to see their daughter because she missed her too much. But now... now Sirius had to accept it. Her body would be in a coffin and lowered to the ground and his nightmare would become a reality. He stood there in a black suit and gazed upon his reflection. There were bags under his stormy grey eyes, his face was shaven and his hair perfectly combed. He wanted to make sure he looked nothing but perfect for his last farewell to his lover.

He glanced at his daughter who was asleep on his bed. He had luckily found a little black dress that she could wear. Whenever he thought about his daughter, his heart broke a little bit. She was a year old, she would never have any true memories of her mother other than the things that other people told her. He vowed to tell her all about her mother, he would leave nothing left out.

They got to the Godric's Hollow Cemetery, it was the place where she wanted to be buried. She grew up in Godric's Hollow and it was the only place that seemed right for her to be buried in. The ceremony was short and somber. Everyone comforted Sirius, offered to do anything if he needed them to, but he stood there silently, just staring at the coffin as it was lowered down into the ground. He held his daughter, who was awake for once, and obviously was oblivious to what had happened. She looked up at her with a confused expression and he looked back into her big grey eyes which were not unlike his own, and then looked back at the freshly buried grave.

Her sister Kaylee came up to him after a while and placed a hand on his arm. "I can take the baby if you want some more time to say goodbye to her" She told him softly. He looked back at her and winced slightly at how much she looked like her sister. He nodded and gently handed over his daughter to her aunt before turning back to the grave.

He slowly walked up to the grave and looked at the tombstone smiling slightly at the epitaph.

_**Out, out, brief candle!**_

_**Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player**_

_**That struts and frets his hour upon the stage**_

_**And then is heard no more. It is a tale**_

_**Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,**_

_**Signifying nothing.**_

_-William Shakespeare_

Shakespeare was her favorite, more specifically Macbeth. She was always interested in the supposed "Cursed play". He always made fun of her, saying that only she would enjoy unlucky things. It only seemed right that they quoted from the play for her tombstone.

He crouched down and placed a hand on the stone, smiling sadly, "Goodbye my love". He stood and looked at the tombstone once more.

_Deanna Parker Black_

_26 February, 1960 - 21 October, 1981_

_Loving Friend, Daughter, Sister,Wife, and Mother_

_Rest In Peace_

He turned and without a second glance walked away as the rain began to fall.

**A/N:**

So there it is! The prologue of my first ever fanfic! I apologize for some of the confusion if there was any about who the characters were, I tried to keep the identity of the mother to be kind of secret until we reached her tomb. I kind of wanted the characters to be vague and ambiguous, but after a while I kind of just gave up and revealed who some of the characters were (as you probably already knew)

I would absolutely love it if you guys could review and give me any tips to improve my writing.

Was it confusing? Should I stop with the "trying to be mysterious" crap? Was it rushed? Is there anything in the actual writing style that I should fix?

Thank you so much for taking the time to read it! I look forward to reading your reviews!


	2. Chapter Two

A child's first day of school is one that is filled with different emotions. Sometimes there is anxiety, which is understandable, as it is a new experience and testing out new things was always a nerve wracking thing to do. Sometimes there is sadness from the parents as they see their child grow up, there is indignation from the child because their freedom to do anything they please, when they please, is slowly being taken away. But most of all there is excitement. Along with the anxiety of trying new things there is always a sense of excitement that a child feels because with this new experience they became more mature, and children always want to act older than they really are.

Annette Blackshaw felt this all the night before school started. Although, it wasn't an ordinary school. She wouldn't be learning Chemistry, or English, or even Arithmetic. No she would be learning how to conjure objects, how to change them into new items, how to brew potions, she would learn how to be a witch. Although...that could wait, because she had to sleep.

She woke up tangled in her sheets, a cat on top of her stomach, and her aunt beating her face with a pillow. She sat up abruptly and fell off the bed, her cat hissing in protest at the sudden change of position. She quickly untangled herself and hopped back on the bed sticking her tongue out at her aunt who was pointing and laughing at her. Her aunt threw the pillow at her and grinned.

"Get ready, we've got about an hour to make it to King's Cross if you wanna make it to Hogwarts" She warned her before skipping out of the girl's room.

Annette stared at where her aunt was before in horror. She hopped off the bed and ran to her doorway.

"Did you say we have an hour to do everything?" She yelled down the hall.

"Yeah, you said you had everything packed right?" She heard her aunt's faint yell back. Annette fiddled with a stray string on her nightshirt as she looked at her messily half packed trunk.

"Uhh...Yes! Yes I did say that didn't I?" She yelled back. She ran back into her room and bit her lip. The eleven year old quickly looking around her room for anything that she needed to pack. She had read through a few of her textbooks the night before and now they were strewn across her floor. She ran and picked them up before tossing them carelessly into her trunk. She continued with this manner for a few more minutes before deciding that she had everything that she needed and if she forgot anything then she would just owl her aunt for them.

She ran into the bathroom and made a face at her appearance. She had thick curly hair that was supposedly from her mother. She knew that her aunt had the same kind of hair but she got so infuriated with it that she would magically transfigure it each morning to make it more manageable. She looked closer in the mirror and rubbed the corner of her mouth where some drool had dried up. She stuck her tongue out in disgust at her reflection, her sleeping habits were something that was easily made fun of. She was told that she could probably sleep through a World War and even she couldn't deny it. She was an extremely heavy sleeper.

She hopped into the shower and quickly cleansed herself for the long day that she undoubtedly would have. She quickly got dressed in jeans, a large sweater and her favorite but worn converse shoes. Her hair was curling already and she quickly put it up before it could get too hideous. She opened the bathroom door and found her cat, Jackson, pawing at the door. She cooed at him and picked him up getting startled as her aunt ran into the room.

"Yeah, we have to leave...like now." She looked down at her watch nervously and looked back up at her her gaze softening, "But you haven't had breakfast yet...Oh what to do." She started pacing and Annette shook her head.

"It's fine. You said they have a food cart did you?" She asked her aunt.

The latter looked up and pointed at her with a grin. "But it's basically all sweets...you think you can sustain yourself with sweets?"

Annette rolled her eyes, "I do it with you don't I?" She questioned her. Now don't get her wrong, Annette's aunt was an absolutely lovely person, but the woman couldn't cook to save her life, which often forced them to eat out or eat junk most of the time.

Her aunt flicked her forehead and rolled her eyes at her niece. "We'll probably have to Side-Along apparate, you alright with that?" She looked at Annette, seeing if she had any objections. She knew that apparating could be a right bitch to anyone who actually knew how to do it, but for minors and anyone who didn't know the skill, it must be hell.

Annette shook her head, she only Side-Along apparated once or twice with her aunt. The first time she puked and the second she passed out, but it was the fastest way to get anywhere and judging by how nervous her aunt was, they probably had no time to do anything else. It was just like them to leave everything to the last minute. Her aunt nodded at her and gave her bright smile.

"Okay, I'm gonna apparate us first and then I'll come back for your trunk and stuff, sound good?" She looked at Annette and she nodded in response. The girl went and quickly put Jackson in his carrying case, the poor thing hissing as she put him in there.

"Aw, Jax, baby I know you hate it in there but once we're on the train I'll let you out, I promise." She told her cat. He seemed to glare at her but got in the case anyways.

She turned to her aunt and gave her a thumbs up. "We're ready to go Captain!" she grinned at her, and her aunt rolled her eyes and grabbed her arm.

"You're holding on tight right? I don't need you to be splinched, it'll put a wrench in our plans" She warned her. Annette grasped her aunt's arm tighter and closed her eyes, afraid for anything to happen even before she got to school.

"On the count of three okay?" She looked down at her niece and grinned at the sight of the eleven year old clutching her arm and her eyes screwed shut. "One...Two..." She didn't even get to three as she apparated to King's Cross. They landed with a jolt and she held Annette steady, the girl looking green.

She looked her in the eyes, "Hey you alright?" Annette opened her eyes and glared at her aunt.

"What the hell happened to 'On the count of three'" She snapped at her. Her aunt grinned and flicked her on the forehead.

"Language young lady" She grinned at Annette when the girl rolled her eyes at her.

"Like you haven't said much worse..." Annette muttered.

Her aunt rolled her eyes and looked at a wall and pointed at it. "Okay, see that wall? You're gonna wanna run through it and the Platform will be on the other side...what?" She questioned as her niece looked up at her incredulously.

"You're not joshing me, are you?" Annette asked. Was she really being expected to run through a wall? Out of everything they could have new students do, it was run through a wall?

Her aunt laughed at her once again and pointed at her. "No I am not. Now go!, I'll meet you on the platform with your stuff" She apparated back to the house and looked at the girl's trunk and cat case. She huffed, knowing that she probably wouldn't be able to carry all of those. She took her wand out and quickly shrunk the trunk and picked up Jackson's case before apparating back.

She looked around not seeing Annette anywhere, which probably meant that she got on the Platform. She approached the wall silently and slowly, trying not to draw attention to herself as she seemed to melt into the wall. The loud sound of children and a train hit her as she made it to Platform 9 ¾. She looked around and spotted her niece standing near the train in awe.

She remembered her first trip to the Platform. It wasn't her turn to go to Hogwarts, but her sister's, however it did not stop her from feeling the overwhelming sense of awe that washed over her. The train was sleek and shiny and looked impressive.

Annette grinned up at her aunt but the grin faded as they heard the warning whistle from the train. They both looked at each other in panic. Her aunt shoved Jackson's case into her arms and gave her her knapsack that was packed with her uniform and ran to the train, quickly unshrunk the trunk and loaded it onto the train. She returned to her niece and gave her a tight hug, smiling when the girl hugged her back just as tight. She let go of her and placed her hands on the side of Annette's face, brown eyes meeting grey.

"You'll be a good girl, won't you? Make friends, have fun, and please for Merlin's sake, do some of your work from time to time." She pleaded with her niece. The girl was notorious for procrastinating. How she managed to do anything was beyond her.

Annette nodded and grinned at her aunt before hugging her once more. "Yeah, yeah. Maybe" She said. Her aunt rolled her eyes, practically hearing the smirk in her voice.

"And I want a letter from you every once in awhile, you got it?" She pointed at Annette in what she hoped to be a stern manner, but she broke and hugged the girl with everything she had.

"Oh, I'll miss you Annie" She murmured into the girl's dark hair. She kissed Annette's forehead and pushed her towards the train. "Now go! You don't wanna miss the train!"

Annette smiled and blew a kiss to her aunt before climbing into the train. She started walking down the hall, looking into the compartments trying to find one that had some room for her. She looked into an open one and saw two boys sitting. One was scrawny and had messy black hair and glasses, the other had bright ginger hair. She grinned, recognizing the ginger, knowing him to be Ron Weasley. Her aunt knew the Weasleys and they had visited a few times before, she felt good knowing that she would know at least one person at Hogwarts.

She knocked on the doorway three times and smiled, "Uh, hi! None of the other compartment are open. Do you mind if I sit with you do you?" She asked looking at both of them.

Both of the boys looked at her and shook their heads. She grinned at them and entered the compartment and sat down beside Ron.

She looked at them a bit awkwardly before ending up staring at the black haired boy for a few moments, when she saw his peculiar looking scar on his forehead. Her eyes widened and jaw dropped.

"You're Harry bloody Potter!" She blurted out. She clamped a hand down on her mouth and blushed furiously, feeling Ron snicker beside her.

"Sorry, sorry! Let's pretend that moment never happened." She extended a hand out to him and offered him a sheepish smile. "I'm Annette Blackshaw, you can just call me Annie if you want" she shrugged.

Harry grinned at her and shook her hand, "Well, you obviously know who I am, so I won't bother."

She winced and blushed harder. Ron still laughing at her she turned to him and stuck her tongue out at him.

"Oh shut up Ron! You probably reacted in the same way!" She elbowed him in the side.

"Okay, okay, sorry. I'm done. Nice to see you Annie" He grinned at her. She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in a pout.

She waved her hand around lazily, "Well, continue with your conversation, pretend I'm not even here" She drawled, not needing another awkward silence to fill the compartment.

Harry shrugged and looked at Ron. "Are all your family wizards?" he asked him curiously.

Ron looked at him "Er - Yes, I think so," he said "I think Mom's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him."

Harry looked a bit put out. "So you must know loads of magic already."

Annette snorted, the boys looked at her curiously. The Weasleys may be a magic filled family but that didn't mean that Ron knew how to control that magic. He was almost as bad as she was when it came to putting off work. She would have been extremely surprised if Ron actually took the time to learn anything beforehand. She shook her head at them, realizing that her snort had rudely brought them out of their conversation.

Harry looked at her expectantly "What about you?"

She shrugged, "Not really much to say about my family. My mum died when I was a baby, and my dad left. No one knows what happened to him." Annette didn't really like talking about her parents. She had heard so many wonderful things about her mother from her aunt, but whenever her father was brought up her aunt would adopt a dark look and would stop talking. She absolutely refused to talk about him, although Annette had caught her muttering a few choice adjectives to describe him that were quite colourful.

"I live with my aunt Kaylee. She's great, fun. She can be a bit eccentric and she can't cook to save her life, but I love her" She grinned. Kaylee had been her best friend, her confident. For all intents and purposes she was her mother, but she would never really say that out loud.

Ron looked at Harry"I heard you went to live with Muggles, what are they like?"

Harry seemed to make a face at that. Annette leaned in, getting a bit curious to know more about Harry.

"Horrible -well, not all of them. My aunt and uncle and cousin are,though. Wish I'd had three wizard brothers." He explained to the both of them.

"Five," Ron corrected "I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left - Bill was head boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. Now Percy's a prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny. Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first. You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat." he explained, his tone of voice had a bit of a gloomy quality to it.

Annette looked at him in a bit of awe. Although she knew the Weasleys, it never ceased to amaze her to hear about how large the family was. She was so unused to the concept of a large family. It had always been her and her aunt, and no one else.

Ron reached inside his jacket and pulled out a fat gray rat, which was asleep, which reminded her that her own cat probably would want to get out of it's case. She looked into the case and saw that he was surprisingly asleep. She let him be, she didn't know how he would react to Ron's rat. Better to be safe than sorry.

"His name's Scabbers and he's useless, he hardly ever wakes up. Percy got an owl from my dad for being made a prefect, but they couldn't aff- I mean, I got Scabbers instead." Ron stopped abruptly and his ears turned red.

Annette felt really bad for him. It was a well known fact that the Weasleys were unfortunately not the richest people. Ron stopped talking and looked out the window and she was at a loss as to what to say to him. It was lucky that Harry was there because he began telling Ron about how he had to wear second hand clothing and never really got birthday presents. Ron seemed to cheer up a bit after that.

Harry continued speaking about his experience of magic so far, "... and until Hagrid told me, I didn't know anything about being a wizard or about my parents or Voldemort"

Annette immediately winced and Ron gasped.

Harry looked at them alarmed, "What?"

"You said You-Know-Who's name!" said Ron, sounding both shocked and impressed. "I'd have thought you, of all people -" Annette slowly clapped at Harry, looking at him in awe.

"I'm not trying to be brave or anything, saying the name," said Harry, I just never knew you shouldn't. See what I mean? I've got loads to learn... I bet," he added with an uneasy tone, "I bet I'm the worst in the class."

Annette shook her head and gave him a reassuring smile, "You won't be. There's loads of people who come from Muggle families and they learn quick enough without any trouble, so you don't have to worry about a thing."

They continued talking for a while about everything and nothing at all. They were now out of London and now passing fields with different farm animals scattered about.

Around noon or so, Annette's stomach growled loudly and she blushed as the boys laughed at her.

"Shut up, I didn't have breakfast" She muttered, feeling her face burning.

It was as if someone heard her because there was soon a clattering outside of the door and a small, smiling, elderly woman pushing a cart peered into the compartment and said, "Anything off the cart dears?"

Annette leaped up immediately and rummaged through her jean pockets trying to find some of the money she had left in there. It seemed that Harry was as hungry as she was as he had leapt up as well and she raised an eyebrow at the amount of food that he bought. She bought two pumpkin pasties and a cauldron cake, hoping that they would sustain her for the rest of the trip. Kaylee had told her about the amazing feasts that Hogwarts would offer and just hearing about it made Annette's mouth water.

Ron looked at Harry, "Hungry, are you?"

"Starving," Harry replied, taking a large bite out of a pumpkin pasty.

Ron had taken out a lumpy package and unwrapped it. There were four sandwiches inside. He pulled one of them apart and said, "She always forgets I don't like corned beef."

Annette perked up, "Hey, I'll trade you! Here, take the cauldron cake. I love your mum's corned beef"

It seemed that Harry had the same thought process as he held up a pasty " Yeah! I'll swap you for one of these,Go on -"

Ron's ears began turning pink,"You don't want this, it's all dry, She hasn't got much time," he added quickly, "you know, with five of us."

Annette rolled her eyes and just grabbed a sandwich and tossed him the cauldron cake. He caught it and grinned sheepishly at her.

"Go on, have a pasty," said Harry held one out and persuaded him. Ron gave in and took the pasty with a grin.

As they made their way through Harry's large hoard he held up a chocolate frog with a hint of hesitation.

"What are these?" he asked them curiously, "They're not really frogs, are they?" at this point however, nothing would really surprise him.

"No," Ron reassured him. "But see what the card is. I'm missing Agrippa."

Harry looked at him strangely, "What?"

Annette rolled her eyes, Harry had been raised by Muggles, he wouldn't know what they were!

"Chocolate Frogs have collectable cards included with them. They're of famous witches and wizards, my aunt used to be a big collector, I think she has close to five hundred or so." She explained to Harry.

Ron nodded in agreement with her, "I collect too, but I haven't got Agrippa or Ptolemy."

Harry unwrapped his Chocolate Frog and picked up the card. It showed a man's face. He wore half- moon glasses, had a long, crooked nose, and flowing silver hair, beard, and mustache. Underneath the picture was the name Albus Dumbledore.

"So this is Dumbledore!" He exclaimed

"Don't tell me you'd never heard of Dumbledore!" said Ron.

Annette rolled her eyes again. "If the Muggles he lives with are as bad as he says, I think it's safe to assume that they never told him anything about the Wizarding World, Ron. Stop acting surprised that he doesn't know something" She told Ron.

The ginger blushed and muttered an apology. He looked at Harry and asked, "Can I have a frog? I might get Agrippa - thanks"

She began unwrapping her own Chocolate Frog when she heard Harry exclaim "He's gone!"

Ron looked at him and shrugged "Well, you can't expect him to hang around all day, He'll be

back. No, I've got Morgana again and I've got about six of her... do you want it? You can start collecting." He handed Harry the card.

Ron's eyes strayed to the pile of Chocolate Frogs waiting to be unwrapped.

Harry noticed him and grinned at him "Help yourself. But in, you know, the Muggle world, people

just stay put in photos."

"Do they? What, they don't move at all?" Ron sounded amazed. "weird!"

Annette nodded along with him. Her house was pretty magical, her aunt was a Halfblood, but she tended to use magic to get out of doing too much work. They had many magical photos and maybe several Muggle ones, but there were often really weird to look at.

Her eyes widened as Harry began opening a pack of Every Flavor Beans.

Ron seemed to notice as well and warned him. "You want to be careful with those, "When they say

every flavor, they mean every flavor - you know, you get all the ordinary ones like chocolate and peppermint and marmalade, but then

you can get spinach and liver and tripe. George reckons he had a bogey flavored one once."

Annette grimaced at the thought. Her and her aunt had once had a contest, how many Every Flavored Beans could they eat without vomiting. It sounded like a good idea at first, but then Annette got a vomit flavored one which in turn caused her to vomit. She had a pretty bad relationship with the Beans. She shook her head as Harry offered her some.

He offered some of the box to Ron and he picked up a green bean, looked at it carefully, and bit into a

corner.

"Bleaaargh - see? Sprouts." he whined. She rolled her eyes

"At least it wasn't vomit" She said a bit bitterly

They had a good time eating the Every Flavor Beans. Harry got toast, coconut, baked bean, strawberry, curry, grass, coffee, sardine, and was even brave enough to nibble the end off a funny gray one Ron wouldn't touch, which turned out to be pepper.

Annette sat there looking a bit disgusted and a bit amused at the boys as they tested their luck with the beans.

After a while there was a knock on the door and a round faced and teary eyed boy looked in "Sorry," he said, "but have you seen a toad at all?"

When they shook their heads, he wailed, "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!"

"He'll turn up," Harry tried reassuring him.

"Yes," said the boy miserably. "Well, if you see him..." he then left without another word.

"Don't know why he's so bothered," Annette shrugged "If I'd brought a toad I'd lose it as quick as I could. Don't know why I would buy a toad in the first place."

Ron rolled his eyes and nodded, "No one brings toads to school anymore. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't talk."

The fat grey rat was still snoozing on Ron's lap.

"He might have died and you wouldn't know the difference," said Ron in what sounded like disgust. "I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. I'll show you, look..."

He rummaged around in his trunk and pulled out a very battered-looking wand.

He looked at the worn wand sadly but then shrugged. "Unicorn hair's nearly poking out. Anyway..."

He had just raised his wand when the compartment door slid open again. The toadless boy was back, but this time he had a girl with him. She big brown bushy hair and rather large front teeth and she was already wearing her new Hogwarts robes.

"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she said. She had a bossy sort of voice. Annette grimaced a bit, she hoped that the girl wasn't as bossy as she sounded.

"We've already told him we haven't seen it," said Ron, but the girl wasn't listening, she zeroed in at the wand in his hand.

"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then." She sat down beside Harry, and Annette raised an eyebrow. It seemed that she was as bossy as she sounded

Ron looked taken aback. "Er - all right." He cleared his throat.

"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."

He waved his wand, but nothing happened. Scabbers stayed gray and fast asleep.

Annette snicked at him. The spell itself sounded fake. It seemed that the joke was on him.

"Are you sure that's a real spell?" the girl said, voicing Annette's thoughts "Well, it's not very

good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I

mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard -I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough - I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you."

Annette blinked a bit at how fast the girl said it. She snapped out of it before the boys did and held out a hand "I'm Annette Blackshaw. Nice to meet you" She offered a small smile.

She caught that the girl said that no one in her family was magical. She thought that it was really impressive that Hermione took the initiative to learn everything. It was probably nerve wracking for her, not knowing what she was going into. She decided to keep an open mind on the bossy sounding girl and give her a chance. Who knew? Maybe they could be friends?

"I'm Ron Weasley," Ron muttered.

"Harry Potter," said Harry.

Hermione looked at him curiously "Are you really?I know all about you, of course - I got a few extra books. for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century." She said a bit excitedly

"Am I?" said Harry, feeling dazed.

"Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me," said Hermione. "Do either of you know what house you'll be in? I've been asking around, and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far

the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad... Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You three had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there

soon."

And she left, taking the toadless boy with her.

"Whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it," said Ron.

Annette shrugged, "I don't know she seemed kind of nice." She stated, "What?" She questioned as the boys looked at her incredulously

Ron rolled his eyes at her and threw his wand back into his trunk. "Stupid spell - George gave it to me, bet he knew it was a dud."

"What house are your brothers in?" Harry asked Ron curiously

"Gryffindor," said Ron, his voice reflecting the gloom that came back "Mum and Dad were in it, too. I don't know what they'll say if I'm not. I don't suppose Ravenclaw would be too bad, but imagine if they put me in

Slytherin."

Annette rolled her eyes. She hated that people automatically thought that Slytherin was an evil house, just like they assumed that Gryffindor was the "good" house, that Ravenclaw was where the nerds went, and Hufflepuff was for the useless.

"That's the house Vol-, I mean, You-Know-Who was in?" Harry asked, he winced at his slip up but neither Annette nor Ron showed that they caught it.

"Yeah," said Ron. He flopped back into his seat, looking depressed.

Harry looked at Annette and she shrugged, not knowing what to do. She was rubbish at trying to comfort people. "You know, I think the ends of Scabbers' whiskers are a bit lighter," said Harry, trying to take Ron's mind off houses.

"So what do your oldest brothers do now that they've left, anyway?" He asked the ginger

"Charlie's in Romania studying dragons, and Bill's in Africa doing something for Gringotts," said Ron.

Annette perked up, "Did you guys hear about what happened at Gringotts? It's been all over the Daily Prophet, but I don't suppose you get that with the Muggles" She looked at Harry " - someone tried to rob a high security vault."

Ron and Harry stared at her.

"Really? What happened to them?" Harry asked

"Nothing, that's why it's such big news. They haven't been caught. My aunt says it must've been a powerful Dark wizard to get round the goblins and the security at Gringotts, but they don't think they took anything, that's what's weird you see? Why would anyone break into the most secure bank in the world, to not steal anything? Of course,everyone gets scared when something like this happens in case You-Know-Who's behind it." She explained to them

Harry looked out of the window thoughtfully before turning to Annette, "So what does your aunt do?"

She grinned at him, "She's a Medi-Witch. She works at Quidditch games, making sure that no one gets too injured and if they do she patches them up." She told him. It was an interesting job because she would be assigned different Quidditch games to go to and sometimes they would allow her to bring Annette along which was a great perk.

It seemed that she reminded Ron of something as he randomly asked Harry,"What's your Quidditch team?"

"Er - I don't know any," Harry confessed sheepishly.

"What!" Ron looked dumbfounded. "Oh, you wait, it's the best game in the world -" And he was off, explaining all about the four balls and the positions of the seven players, describing famous games he'd been to with his brothers and the broomstick he'd like to get if he had the money. Annette adding in whatever she could whenever Ron took a breath long enough for her to say something.

He was just taking Harry through the finer points of the game when the compartment door slid open yet again, but it wasn't Neville the toadless boy, or Hermione Granger this time. Three boys entered. A small pale and platinum blonde boy and two larger ones one either side of him.

"Is it true?" the blonde asked. "They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?" he looked at Harry.

"Yes," said Harry. He was looking at the other boys on each side of the blonde.

"Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle," said the pale boy carelessly, noticing where Harry was looking. "And my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."

Annette rolled her eyes and Ron gave a slight cough, which might have been hiding a snigger. Draco

Malfoy looked at him.

"Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford."

Annette stood up and glared at him. He looked at her with a sneer, "And who might you be?"

"Annette Blackshaw, now get out this compartment before I make you" She sneered back. He raised an eyebrow, as if recognizing the name.

He smirked at her before turning back to Harry."You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there." He held out his hand to shake Harry's, but Harry didn't take it.

"I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks," he said coolly.

Annette bit her lip to keep herself from laughing out loud. Draco Malfoy didn't go red, but a pink tinge appeared in his pale cheeks.

"I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," he said slowly. "Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them, either. You hang around with riffraff like the

Weasleys and that Hagrid, and it'll rub off on you."

Annette noticed that he didn't include here in the group of people who were supposedly a "bad influence" but she shrugged it off as Malfoy just not knowing who she was exactly. But that didn't matter as both Harry and Ron stood up beside her.

"Say that again," Ron said, his face as red as his hair.

"Oh, you're going to fight us, are you?" Malfoy sneered.

"Unless you get out now," Annette said, repeating what she said earlier, eyeing the two large boys.

"But we don't feel like leaving, do we, boys? We've eaten all our food and you still seem to have some." Malfoy seemed to sneer at them.

Goyle reached toward the Chocolate Frogs next to Ron - Ron leapt forward, but before he'd so much as touched Goyle, the large boy let out a horrible yell. Scabbers the rat was hanging off his finger, sharp little teeth sunk deep into Goyle's knuckle - Crabbe and Malfoy backed away as Goyle swung Scabbers round and round, howling, and when Scabbers finally flew off and hit the window, all three of them disappeared at once.

Throughout the whole thing Annette was laughing hysterically at the boy's misfortune. Not feeling an ounce of pity for him. The kid had it coming to him. Perhaps they thought there were more rats lurking among the sweets, or perhaps they'd heard footsteps, because a second later, Hermione Granger had come in.

"What has been going on?" she said, looking at the sweets all over the floor and Ron picking up Scabbers by his tail.

I think he's been knocked out," Ron said to Harry and Annette. He looked closer at Scabbers. "No - I don't believe it - he's gone back to sleep-"

Annette scoffed, boy his rat was lame. He had just done something awesome and there he was...asleep.

She turned to Harry and asked him,"You've met Malfoy before?"

He nodded and explained to them that they had met in Diagon when Hagrid had taken him to get his supplies.

"I've heard of his family," said Ron darkly. "They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared."

Annette nodded, "Yeah, my aunt told me about that. Said they'd been bewitched. She doesn't believe it. She says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side. She was pissed when everyone ended up believing them"

Ron suddenly turned to Hermione, "Can we help you with something?"

Hermione looked at him distastefully, "You'd better hurry up and put your robes on, I've just been up to the

front to ask the conductor, and he says we're nearly there. You haven't been fighting, have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there!" She chastised them

"Scabbers has been fighting, not us," said Ron, scowling at her. "Would you mind leaving while we change?"

"All right - I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors," said Hermione in a sniffy voice. "And you've got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you

know?" She turned to Annette with a smile "Do you need somewhere to change, would you like me to show you where the washroom is?"

Annette returned the smile, "Yeah, that'd be great, thank you." She followed Hermione out catching Ron's glare that was fixated on Hermione's back, and thanked her once more when they reached the washroom.

She entered a stall and quickly changed into her uniform. As she exited the stall she looked at her reflection in the mirror, making sure she didn't look absolutely terrible.

She returned to the compartment in time to hear a voice echo through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."

Annette played with a stray curl from her ponytail nervously. She looked at Harry and Ron, both of them looking pale and anxious, she had to say that she was kind of glad that she wasn't the only one that was nervous for this. They crammed their pockets with the last of the sweets and joined the large crowd in the corridor.

The train slowed right down and finally stopped. People pushed their way toward the door and out onto a tiny, dark platform. Annette made a sound of protest as the older kids, who were much larger than her jostled her around. As they got onto the platform she shivered in the frigid night air.

Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and Annette heard a gruff voice call out, "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry?"

She turned to Harry, "So that's Hagrid?" She asked him. Harry nodded in response and he grinned and waved at Hagrid.

"C'mon, follow me - any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!" Hagrid's gruff voice called out once more.

Slipping and stumbling, they followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on either side of them that Harry thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody spoke much. Neville, the

boy who kept losing his toad, sniffed once or twice.

"Ye' all get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called to the first years over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here."

There was a loud sound of awe that came from all the children as the narrow path opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a beautiful vast castle with many turrets and towers.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Harry, Annette, and Ron were followed Hermione, which elicited a soft, almost inaudible groan from Ron.

"Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, making sure that all the children were in, and that no one was left behind."Right then - FORWARD!"

And the fleet boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Annette looked around, absolutely in awe of everything. None of her aunt's descriptions did Hogwarts any justice.

"Heads down!" yelled Hagrid as the first boats reached the cliff; they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles.

"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" Hagrid called out, who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them.

"Trevor!" cried Neville blissfully, holding out his hands. Annette snickered and grinned at him.

They all clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle. They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, Oak front door.

"Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?" She looked back at Neville who was holding his toad so tightly she was afraid that he was suffocating the poor creature. Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.

Annette took in a deep breath, readying herself for the wonder that would begin by entering through those doors.

A/N:

So what did you guys think of that? I would love to hear your feedback so! Review!


	3. Chapter Three

The door swung open at once. And a tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green

robes stood there. She had a very stern face and Annette bit her lip, making a mental note to herself to never cross her.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here." She pulled the door wide. The entrance hall was huge. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors.

Annette found herself just admiring the architecture, taking it all in before the group forced her to start moving again. They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. She could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right. It must have been the rest of the school. Professor McGonagall showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering about nervously. Feeling like there was safety in numbers.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free

time in your house common room." She looked at each and everyone of the first years in the eyes which disconcerted Annette a bit.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rulebreaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours." She continued to stare down the scared group of children.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

Her eyes lingered for a moment on Neville's cloak, which was fastened under his left ear, and on Ron's smudged nose. On Harry's unruly hair, and on Annette who kept nervously playing with her hair.

"I shall return when we are ready for you,Please wait quietly." Professor McGonagall said. She left the chamber.

Harry swallowed."How exactly do they sort us into houses?" he asked Ron.

"Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking." Ron whispered back to Harry.

Annette rolled her eyes, her aunt told her not to freak out as it was just a hat that sorted you, but she didn't feel the need to tell the boys that. She took an odd sense of pleasure at seeing them squirm like that. She glanced at the other first years who looked terrible.

Most were pale and sweaty and looked like they were going to be sick on themselves. Sure, Annette was nervous, but that was because the sorting took place in front of the whole school. It was everyone's first impression of you. Knowing her, she would probably trip on her way up. She looked at Hermione who was muttering jumbled up nonsense about spells that she learned and wondering about the ones she would need.

Then something happened that made her jump about a foot in the air -several people behind her screamed.

"What the hell?" She yelped.

She gasped along with the students around her. About twenty ghosts had just streamed through the back glided across the room talking to one another and hardly glancing at the first years. They seemed to be arguing. What looked like a fat little monk was saying: "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance -"

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost - I say, what are you all doing here?" Another ghost said.

A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first years.

"New students!" said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them. "About to be Sorted, I suppose?"

A few people nodded mutely, Annette just stared up at them a bit disturbed. She didn't know there would be ghosts here. Something about having the spirits of dead people roaming around just didn't sit well with her.

"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old house, you know."

"Move along now," said a sharp voice, belonging to Professor McGonagall. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start."

"Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first years, "and follow me."

Feeling oddly as though her legs had turned to lead, Annette got into line behind Ron, with Harry in front of him. They walked out of the chamber, back across the hall, and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall.

She had never even imagined such a strange and splendid place. There were thousands of glowing candles that were just...floating there. There were beautiful. They were floating over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. The tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the front of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting.

Professor McGonagall led the first years up so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Annette began playing with her hair furiously before Ron, who saw what she was doing, elbowed her in the side. She let out a small breath of pain and glared at him.

Mainly to avoid all the staring eyes and to avoid all the attention that was being drawn towards her, she looked upward and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. She vaguely heard Hermione whisper, "Its bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts, A History."

Annette quickly looked down again as Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat. This hat was patched and frayed and

extremely dirty. For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth - and the hat began to sing:

_"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,_  
_But don't judge on what you see,_  
_I'll eat myself if you can find_  
_A smarter hat than me._  
_You can keep your bowlers black,_  
_Your top hats sleek and tall,_  
_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_  
_And I can cap them all._  
_There's nothing hidden in your head_  
_The Sorting Hat can't see,_  
_So try me on and I will tell you_  
_Where you ought to be._  
_You might belong in Gryffindor,_  
_Where dwell the brave at heart,_  
_Their daring, nerve, and chivalry Set Gryffindors apart;_  
_You might belong in Hufflepuff,_  
_Where they are just and loyal,_  
_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true And unafraid of toil;_  
_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_  
_if you've a ready mind,_  
_Where those of wit and learning,_  
_Will always find their kind;_  
_Or perhaps in Slytherin_  
_You'll make your real friends,_  
_Those cunning folk use any means_  
_To achieve their ends._  
_So put me on! Don't be afraid!_  
_And don't get in a flap!_  
_You're in safe hands (though I have none)_  
_For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_

The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. Annette looking at it in awe, clapping along with the rest of the hall. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quiet and still again.

"So we've just got to try on the hat!" Ron whispered to Harry and Annette. "I'll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll."

Annette rolled her eyes at him, "Haven't you learned to not believe anything the twins tell you, yet?" She asked him. That boy would believe almost anything.

Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment."When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!" A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. And within a moment's pause-

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.

The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Harry saw the ghost of the Fat Friar waving merrily at her.

"Blackshaw, Annette!"

Annette took in a deep breath and let it out shakily, walking up to the stool with her chin up, hoping that she looked confident and not as scared as she really felt. She turned and sat down, the last thing she saw was the hundreds of faces staring at her, she briefly saw Harry and Ron smiling encouragingly at her and surprisingly she saw Hermione mouthing "good luck" to her. Her vision turned to black as the hat fell into her eyes.

She was startled to hear a voice speak to her, as if it was whispering in her ear. She immediately realized that it was the hat. "Oh you're a smart one aren't you? Perhaps Ravenclaw? No, you don't really enjoy the process of learning do you? Just knowing things... You're quite lazy, I have to say. Hufflepuff would not suit you at all. Gryffindor or Slytherin...two very different houses you know.

Annette shrugged a bit, she never really cared for the house system. She thought that it divided the students rather than bring them together. If she had a say, she probably would have said Slytherin, but only based on her personality. She knew that she could be sly and cunning, and she knew that she was resourceful as well. What was more was how ambitious she was. She never really worked hard, but if she felt that something was important, and essential to her well being she would do anything to accomplish it.

"Well it seems that you've got your mind made up already. Be warned that you will face many difficulties but I believe that if you keep up with that attitude of yours, you will be able to do it, maybe you'll be able to change the reputation, eh? Better be SLYTHERIN" The last word was shouted out and there was clapping from the table that was clad in green and silver, she stepped down from stool and handed the hat back to McGonagall.

The hat was taken off and she saw Harry and Ron looking at her with expressions of disbelief. She looked at them and shrugged. She made her way to the table and sat down looking around, noticing that they weren't a very happy looking bunch. _What have I gotten myself into?_ She thought to herself as she turned back to front of the Hall and watched the rest of the sorting.

"Bones, Susan!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah.

"Boot, Terry!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them.

"Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too, but "Brown, Lavender" became the first new Gryffindor, and the table on the far left exploded with cheers; She bit back a grin at the cat calls she could hear from the Gryffindor table. They were a rambunctious bunch and she started to feel a twinge of regret at being sorted into Slytherin. The Slytherin table politely clapped for her, and a few gave her scrutinizing glares but that was it. There was none of the warmth that the Gryffindor table seemed to have in abundance.

"Bulstrode, Millicent" then became a Slytherin. She went and sat across from Annette and Annette offered her a small smile but all she got was a blank stare. Annette looked back at the group of first years awkwardly.

"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Seamus Finnigan finally became a Gryffindor after he took a while with the hat trying to decide where to place him.

"Granger, Hermione!"

Annette perked up at the name, she watched as Hermione almost ran to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head.

"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat. Annette clapped for the girl whom she decided would be a potential friend to her, but she wondered if being in Slytherin would affect their potential friendship. She placed her head in her hand groaning, she really hadn't though this through. She should have just shut up and let the hat do its job.

When Neville Longbottom, the boy who kept losing his toad, was called, he fell over on his way to the stool. Annette giggled at him but couldn't help but feel a little bad for him.

The hat took a long time to decide with Neville. When it finally shouted, "GRYFFINDOR," Neville ran off still wearing it, and had to jog back amid gales of laughter to give it to "MacDougal, Morag."

Malfoy swaggered forward when his name was called and got his wish at once: the hat had barely touched his head when it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!" She rolled her eyes as he went to join his friends Crabbe and Goyle who were unfortunately sitting near her, looking pleased with himself. He went and sat next to her and Annette mentally groaned. Someone was going to die by the end of the night she thought to herself.

There weren't many people left now. "Moon" "Nott" "Parkinson" then a pair of twin girls, "Patil" and "Patil" then "Perks, Sally-Anne" and then, at last - "Potter, Harry!"

As Harry stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall.

"Potter, did she say?" Annette wanted to come to her new friend's defense, yes she knew that she had the same reaction, more or less, but having one person ogle at you was completely different than being ogled at by hundreds of people.

He took a while but in the end he was sorted into Gryffindor and it was like a cannon had went off in the Hall. The Gryffindor table seemed to be the rowdiest of all, she could barely make out the Weasley twins shouting "We got Potter! We got Potter!" Annette rolled her eyes and grinned at Harry as they made eye contact. He hesitated at first which made her grin falter but he then returned it. She let out a small sigh of relief. At least she knew that Harry would be at least civil towards her, despite her new house.

And now there were only three people left to be sorted. "Thomas, Dean," a Black boy even taller than Ron, joined Harry at the Gryffindor table. "Turpin, Lisa," became a Ravenclaw and then it was Ron's turn. He was pale green by now. It barely touched his head when it yelled out in a clear voice "GRYFFINDOR!"

"What a surprise" She muttered sarcastically as she clapped for him. She glared at Malfoy as he snorted at her sarcasm. She wasn't trying to make him laugh at all. On the contrary she was making plans to drop him off a high surface if he didn't move away from her. She paused in her clapping...maybe she did belong in Slytherin...

Finally "Zabini, Blaise," was made a Slytherin. And Professor McGonagall rolled up her scroll and took the Sorting Hat away.

Albus Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there. "Welcome," he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"

He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered. Annette looked at him oddly, but shrugged, he couldn't be the oddest wizard to have existed. And he was the best wizard in world, she supposed when you had that title you could act however you wanted.

Annette''s mouth fell open immediately as the dishes that were previously empty were now piled high with food. She had never seen so many things she liked to eat on one table, it was a real treat as the closest to gourmet food she had ever gotten was eating Chinese take out with her aunt. She piled her plate with a bit of everything and began to eat. Savoring each and every bite. It was all so delicious.

A ghost floated towards them and introduced himself as "The Bloody Baron". Annette shivered, not liking the seating arrangement. The ghost seemed to take a liking to floating near them, although he was closer to Malfoy who certainly looked unpleased. _Hah, sucks for him_, she thought happily, tucking into her plate.

When everyone had eaten as much as they could, the remains of the food faded from the plates, leaving them sparkling clean as before. A moment later the desserts appeared. Blocks of ice cream in every flavor you could think of!

Annette helped herself to some strawberry and vanilla ice cream. Happily eating while listening in on the conversations around her. Malfoy's group started talking about families and she rolled her eyes. Suddenly Malfoy asked her about her family. And she glared at them.

"Mum's dead, dad's gone, I live with my aunt...anything else?" She snapped.

Malfoy smirked at her, and Pansy Parkinson leaned in. "Okay, but what's your blood like?" She asked.

Annette sat there staring at the group incredulously at their total insensitivity to her personal life.

"I'm a halfblood and if you have any objections about that, well, sucks to be you. Because I really couldn't care less about what you think, so shove it." She snapped at them before returning to peacefully eat her ice cream.

She glanced at the group who were still looking at her with raised eyebrows, "Yes? I thought I made myself quite clear, if you have a problem with me based on my heritage then it's not my problem, so please let me eat my ice cream in peace" She told them.

They all looked away and began murmuring in hushed voices. She rolled her eyes, but was content with them leaving her alone.

She looked up at the Teacher's Table and her eyes landed on Professor Snape. From what she gathered from eavesdropping on other people's conversations she knew that he hated Gryffindors, was the Slytherin Head, and was hard on anyone who wasn't a Slytherin. Which she thought was both unfair and lucky. It was unfair for the other students, but lucky because she had one less teacher to deal with. She made eye contact with him and he grimaced at her before turning away. She looked at him oddly. What had she done? She shrugged and looked away before finishing off her ice cream.

At last, the desserts too disappeared, and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again. The hall fell silent immediately. She found it incredibly impressive that with just one action the Headmaster could silence the entire school.

"Ahem - just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well." Dumbledore looked in the direction of the Weasley twins. She held in a giggle as the gingers looked around innocently as it was clear that they were anything but.

He looked back out to the students, "I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch. And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

Annette's eyes widened in alarm. Well that was unexpected.

"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Dumbledore. Harry noticed that the other teachers' smiles had become rather fixed. Dumbledore gave his wand a little flick, as if he was trying to get a fly off the end, and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high above the tables and twisted itself, snakelike, into words. "Everyone pick their favorite tune," said Dumbledore, "and off we go!"

And the school bellowed:

_"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,_  
_Teach us something please,_  
_Whether we be old and bald_  
_Or young with scabby knees,_  
_Our heads could do with filling_  
_With some interesting stuff,_  
_For now they're bare and full of air,_  
_Dead flies and bits of fluff,_  
_So teach us things worth knowing,_  
_Bring back what we've forgot,_  
_just do your best, we'll do the rest,_  
_And learn until our brains all rot."_

Annette just sat there awkwardly, refusing to sing around people she didn't know. Everyone ended up finishing the song at different times, as they all picked different tunes and tempos. At last, only the Weasley twins were left singing along to a very slow funeral march.

Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand and when they had finished, he was one of those who clapped loudest.

"Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"

The Slytherin first years followed two prefects through the chattering crowds, out of the Great Hall, and down the marble staircase, heading down to the soon found themselves in front of a stone wall. The prefect spoke in a clear voice to reveal the password to be "Nobility" She rolled her eyes at that. Of course their password had to be something pretentious.

They entered the common room and Annette had to admit that she liked it. It was a dungeon-like room with greenish lamps and chairs. She heard someone say that the common room was partway under the lake, which explained why the light in the room had a green tinge. The common room had lots of low backed black and dark green button-tufted, leather sofas; skulls; and dark wood cupboards. She had to admit that it had quite a grand atmosphere, but it was also quite a cold one. Possibly her favorite part of the common room was that it was decorated with tapestries featuring the adventures of famous Medieval Slytherins.

The female prefect took the four girls, Millicent, Pansy, Daphne, and herself to the girl's dormitories they found their beds at last: four four-posters hung with deep green velvet curtains. Their trunks had already been brought up. Too tired to talk much, they pulled on their pajamas and fell into bed. Annette shut the curtains around her.

"Goodnight Daphne, Goodnight Millicent" Pansy's high pitched voice rang out,

"Goodnight Pansy, Goodnight Daphne" Millicent's lower, gruffer voice answered.

Annette rolled her eyes at their obvious attempts at trying to make her feel left out.

"Goodnight Pansy, Goodnight Millicent...Goodnight Annette" Daphne's soft voice carried her. Annette looked to the direction where her voice came from and smiled softly to herself.

"Goodnight Daphne" She answered back.

She rolled to her side and closed her eyes. Tomorrow would be the true beginning to her becoming a real witch.

**A/N:**

Hey!  
So here is the next chapter, and I really really really would appreciate it if you guys would drop a review. I just need to see if what I'm doing is alright and if there is anything I could so that would make reading this fic more pleasurable for you guys


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